


A Predetermined Fate

by NotQuiteNerdy



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Adding more characters as they come up, Prince Link - Freeform, Sort Of, but it's about the pining, eventual zelink, no beta we post with no regrets, reverse au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28673406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotQuiteNerdy/pseuds/NotQuiteNerdy
Summary: The kingdom of Hyrule was in a time of peace. There was no crown princess, no heroic knight, and no great evil. But history was destined to repeat itself, and as the triforce starts to awaken, those who have been chosen by the goddess find themselves thrust into roles they never would have imagined or wanted, desperate to find a way to stop their cyclical fate.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 11





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so a couple nights ago I saw @writingstarling on tumblr's post about a reverse au and then decided to write a fic the same night, so I have no idea where the plot is going, but this is what we have so far. A story where Zelda is the one born as a normal girl who suddenly gets a destiny thrust upon her, and where Link is a prince who has to navigate a new role he doesn't know how to become. We've got good parents who love and support their children, we've got a weird mix of BOTW and not BOTW, the triforce is back. Maybe Ganon will show up. I have no idea.

“This isn’t funny!” Zelda yelled out clinging to the precariously weak branch for dear life.

Purah rolled on the grass laughing loud enough to scare all the deer in the near vicinity. 

“Will you please help me?” Zelda shrieked out. Her arms were getting sore, and there was no way she would be able to make it down by herself.

“You got yourself stuck up there!” Purah called in a singsong voice as she pulled herself back up to standing.

“Purah!”

“Ms. Purah to you!” Purah turned her back on the scene and returned to their intended task; Cataloguing mushrooms.

“I’m going to fall!”

“Then fall!”

“Catch me!”

“We’ll both get hurt then,” Purah huffed in annoyance taking the sheikah slate from her hip.

“The goal is for neither of us-” There was a loud crack as the branch gave way and Zelda tumbled to the ground with a thud and a “oof”

“Injured?” Purah spared a glance over her shoulder.

“Mortally. This is my last breath.” Zelda clutched her side with a groan.

Purah must have felt a little guilty because she actually left the sunshroom alone to check on her.

“Can you move all your limbs?”

Zelda demonstrated by flopping her arms and legs around in the air.

“You’re fine then, you’ll just have a massive bruise tomorrow.”

Zelda slowly sat up and reached into her hair to pull out some loose twigs and leaves. She heard the sound of the sheikah slate’s camera and looked over in horror to see Purah grinning madly at the screen.

“You’re a cruel woman.”

“Thank you. Are you going to help now?”

Zelda shook the remaining leaves out of her hair and pushed herself back up on her legs. She was sore, but she had had much worse.

Zelda had fallen off a horse and broken her arm, been chased into the river in the dead of winter by courser bees (It hadn’t deterred them and she ended up getting stung and freezing) and fell face first into a snowbank while tobogganing, to name a few. It was safe to say that even before working for Purah she had a knack for suddenly finding herself in bad, dangerous, and easily avoidable situations. She was curious by nature, it was what had led her into the tree in the first place. There was a bird’s nest in the higher branches, and she just wanted to get a closer view so she could take notes, and then one thing led to another-

Well, no harm done at least. Other than a possible disappointed look from her father followed by a worried frenzy of checking for scraps and injuries, concluding of course with the infamous, “you need to be more careful speech”.

To say he wasn’t over joyed about her apprenticeship with Purah would be an incredibly big understatement. He adored her passion for research, in fact he was the one who had inspired it, but he sometimes questioned Purah’s… responsibility and influence, to put it kindly. She had pointed out that she would have found her own way of researching ancient technologies with or without Purah, so she might as well be supervised by someone who knew what they were doing. Or at least, knew what they were doing as much as anybody could when it came to ancient tech. That had won him over in the end. That and her suggestion that she move to Akkala instead to learn from Robbie. He agreed shortly after.

The sun started to set as they made their way back to Hateno, Zelda gave a friendly wave to the guards by the gate as Purah continued to think out loud about upgrading the sheikah sensor. Zelda had to interrupt her to say goodnight as they passed her house.

“Oh right.” Purah yanked herself out of her thoughts long enough to hand Zelda some of the mushrooms. “Gives these to your dad, and if he could maybe write out an entry for me…”

“Yes. I’ll ask him. Please sleep instead of working all night.”

Purah laughed as an answer, turning away and waving a hand in goodbye. Zelda turned left off the path and made her way between the other houses to her home. The cuckoos were out in the yard again, walking around the cooking pot proudly. It was lit, which meant her father was making dinner. She went into the coop to grab the eggs, adding them to the bag already full of mushrooms, before finally walking inside.

“Dad, I’m home.” Zelda placed the food on the kitchen table and peered around for her dad. If she was lucky, she could change her clothes and tidy up before he spotted her, thus avoiding the previously mentioned, disappointed look, worried panic, and “be careful” speech. She raced to her bed and pulled out a change of clothes quickly, throwing them on before madly running to the mirror and undoing her braids. She picked out an offending twig that was still somehow trapped after all this time, and ran a brush through the long hair before tying it back again. She licked her thumb and wiped away the dirt smudges on her chin. With a final approving look in the mirror she went back to her previous task; Locating dad.

He wasn’t too hard to find. He was out back, in his workroom. Zelda and her father kept chickens, she helped in the research lab, he was a farm hand, but both of them knew her father’s true passion lied in his books. He had a little shed behind their house, with only a desk, a little stove for the winter, and as much paper and ink as they could buy. Notebooks, novels, drawings, anything the two of them had found or made lined the walls. It was a magical place, a place where stories were born out of nothing. Zelda knew she could always find him here, humming to himself as he scribbled down ideas, or got lost in the worlds he created.

“The cooking pot is lit.” Zelda said as she opened the door. 

Her father stood up with a sigh, “Sorry Zelda, I was going to start dinner and then this idea came to me and-”

Zelda smiled, “It’s alright. I have mushrooms from Purah we can use anyway.” She walked over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Is this a new story?”

“Yes, well no. It’s an old one, I just remembered it. It’s something your great grandmother used to tell me, when I was young. It’s a little confusing, I’ve been putting the pieces together since this morning but only got a chance to write them down-”

Zelda’s stomach growled.

Her father laughed and tucked away the papers, “Food first, story later.”

The evening passed quietly. Her father agreed to write descriptions of all the mushrooms for Purah, (though he kept insisting Zelda should write them since she knew much more about them) and they ate in comfortable silence. When the fire inside was lit, and the room was filled with the dim warmth of candlelight Zelda found herself writing in her diary, detailing the events of the day. She wanted to omit falling out of the tree, but she knew the thought of having an incomplete and inaccurate entry would be far more frustrating than dealing with her wounded pride. Still it annoyed her enough to look up from her journal and see her father pacing.

“What's the matter?”

“I can’t remember how the story ends…”

“The one that great gran used to tell you?”

He nodded, furrowing his brow in thought.

“Maybe you need to tell it out loud.”

He turned to her with a smile, pausing to think of how to begin.

“This is a very old legend.” He began, “My gran always said it was from the beginning of time, but I don’t know if that’s true… There were three goddesses. Din, Farore, and Nayru. Din built the land-”

“Nayru gave it laws, and Farore gave it life. I know this part Dad.”

“This was supposed to be an exercise in me remembering. If I’m going to have any luck, I can’t skip around.”

Zelda pretended to roll her eyes, but gave him a grin.

“Yes the different Goddesses created the world, and they left a relic, a piece of their power, the Triforce, guarded by Hylia. Soon a great evil came to claim the power. It was Hylia and her chosen hero who protected the world…” He trailed off, watching the fire. Zelda waited a moment before breaking the silence.

“Dad, I know the story of Hylia. That can’t be the one that’s confused you.”

“According to my grandmother. Hylia gave up her divinity to become human. An ordinary woman who had no memory of who she was, all in order to use the triforce. And every time evil came up to cover the world in darkness, there was always a hero, and a princess with the blood of the goddess to stop it. That’s what happened 10,000 years ago."

He paused again. Zelda felt her hands grip the fabric of her pants. Something inside her was starting to stir. She was agitated? No that wasn't quite right.

Her father didn't notice her strange reaction as he continued, “It means… All this tech they’re finding, the sheikah slate, the strange buildings under the rocks. They’ve found paintings too. A hero and a goddess fighting an evil darkness… It makes me worried.”

“What do you mean?”

“The story says the triforce is split. A piece is supposed to be wielded by the crown princess of hyrule. Who, if the story is true, is the goddess herself. But-”

“We don’t have a princess.” 

Her father nodded, “Exactly.”

“Then surely, the darkness is not meant to come in our time.” Zelda said. She was feeling something sitting in her stomach. It wasn’t heavy though, it didn’t weigh her down, it made her want to shake it off of her skin. To move. But her legs were heavy as lead. She was anxious. That was the feeling.

“The three always come at the same time. I think you’re right, this means we are living in a time of peace.” He was smiling, but she could tell he wasn’t convinced. Why was she filled with this dread? Everything was fine.

“It’s only a story anyway. Who knows what happened 10,000 years ago.” Zelda offered, standing suddenly and making her way to the sink to wash the dishes.

“You’re right.” Her father said, still standing behind his chair staring at the fire. “It might have been a creation story that just got tied along into recounts of war.”

“D-Did you remember the ending?” Zelda hated that her voice caught in her throat. She was being ridiculous, this was a children’s story. “What happened in Gran’s story of 10,000 years ago?”

Her father turned to her with a warm smile, “They won of course. The darkness was defeated, sealed away forever.”

She smiled too, “I told you you just need to say it out loud.”

The next day was relatively uneventful. Purah was exhausted from staying up all night, so Zelda ordered her to go upstairs and sleep.

"I'm  _ your _ boss. You can't order me around.”

"So help me Purah I will pick you up and throw you into that bed."

Purah grumbled but shuffled herself out of the room. That left Zelda alone in the workshop with nothing left to do but get started on the task Purah and her dreaded. Cleaning the lab.

Neither of them were particularly good at keeping a space tidy. There was too much wild excited energy between them to remember to put books away, or sweep the floor. Combined with the fact that Purah often spent whole days locked up in the lab, there was a gross assortment of old cups of tea, crumbs, half eaten sandwiches, and many other moldy items. It was disgusting, and cleaning it all up made her feel even worse for having spent so much time where all of these items were left to fester. 

She began with the moldy food.

She was aided today by the fact that her mind was elsewhere. She had woken up this morning from a strange dream she was still trying to piece together. She remembered standing in a field with something coming towards her, but she didn't know what it was. It was dark. She felt someone slip their hand into hers. There was a tingle, one she could still feel now if she closed her eyes, it spread across her skin. Then there was a blinding light. She had no idea where it was coming from, but it was so bright that it had woken her up. She had sat in the dark, panting. And even now it made her stop in her tracks thinking about it.

Did she see a face in the darkness? She thought she remembered a voice. But when she tried to picture the face, or the voice she came up empty.

It was frustrating. She could remember the feeling of the light and the tingle, the sensation of someone holding her hand. She could remember it so vividly that it felt like it had just happened. But the face of the mystery hand? Any other important detail that could help her piece together the dream-

The plate she was holding shattered as it fell to the ground. 

She took a deep breath, calming herself down. It was a dream. There was no need to get so distracted and upset.

It was mid afternoon by the time Zelda had finished up the lab. It didn't sparkle, but at least it was sanitary and orderly. The books had been sorted and placed back on their shelves, the floor had been swept, the room had been dusted, and Zelda was sweaty and exhausted. She went upstairs and woke up Purah so that she didn't sleep the whole day away and repeat her all-nighter tonight. Purah begrudgingly woke up and followed her downstairs. Upon seeing the clean lab she was overjoyed and now fully awake. Zelda quietly said goodbye for the day as Purah bounced around the room. She got the signature vague wave of acknowledgement from her “boss” and made her way back down the hill to her home. She tried her best to ignore her straying thoughts, and refused to give her dream another moment of attention. Instead she decided she would distract herself with observation. There was a hyrule herb growing near the fence. There were stray clouds gathering in the sky, accompanied by the smell of rain. There weren't any birds chirping, which told her there probably was rain coming. That and the empty road in town. Usually there were children running up and down playing tag, or Brie outside the general store yelling out deals. The sun wasn't set yet, it couldn't be that late. Zelda felt the same anxious jittery feeling from the night before start to bubble up inside her. Where was everyone?

She picked up her pace jogging through the deserted town and found her answer. There, in the middle of town were three bokoblins, accompanied by the looming presence of a moblin. Zelda ducked behind a building and held her breath. She had seen the monsters before, but never this close to the village. Never inside the village! She could hear their grunting and chattering. It didn't seem like they noticed her yet. She had to get inside. She tiptoed behind the building until she couldn't hear their snorting anymore, making a mad dash towards her house, sprinting as fast she could, leaping over fences and jumping down from the hill. She threw open the door and slammed it behind her. "Dad?" She was panting as she stepped into the room.

There was no response.

She ran to his room, to the kitchen, to the bathroom. Nothing. She could feel her heart racing in her chest. She peered out the window and saw the light on in his workshop. She took a deep breath, bracing herself, before she threw open the door again and ran across the long yard to the little building. She yanked the door open and came to a stop. He wasn't there. The light was on. He had been here. She could see the papers spread across the desk and the lid wasn't on the ink pot. He had just been here. But he wasn't there, and he wasn't in the house.

Zelda's heart had climbed into her throat. She couldn't breathe. Tears were starting to blur her vision. The sky had turned a dark grey. She stood frozen in the entrance to the workshop unable to move, unable to think, unable to breathe-

It was the crack of thunder that restarted her legs and lungs. She was running across the lawn again looking for signs, for anything. A footprint, a hat. The rain had started to pour down, and it was getting hard to see. She was back by the cookpot, desperately searching the cuckoo coop, terrifying the already startled birds.

There was a shout in the distance. She knew that voice. Her heart went into double time. He must be at the farm.

Without thinking she grabbed the wooden ladle by the cooking pot and hopped the fence. She was running uphill on the slippery mud. More than once she lost her footing and fell to her hands, before scrambling back up. Finally she saw it.

Two moblins in the field, each with a club. Their terrifying silhouettes stood like trees, towering over her. In one of their hands was a struggling figure.

"Drop him!" Her head snapped to the source of the voice. Her father, armed with a pitchfork, was charging at the beast. 

The moulin gave a yelp as the pitchfork hit his side, lifting his leg to try and squish her father.

"Rhoam, get out of here." Zelda recognized the man in the Moblin's grip. Talon owned the farm. He had been good friends with her father her whole life.

The second moblin had swung its club. Knocking her father to the ground and sending him tumbling a few feet away.

"Dad!"

All heads turned to her, including the moblins’. They approached her, snouts baring sharp teeth as they snarled. Zelda gripped her ladle a little tighter. She saw one of them bring his club back to swing and dove to the side away from them. She kept running, sliding to her knees beside her dad.

"Get out of here." He said pushing himself up to sit with a grimace.

"No. Not without you."

The moblins had lost interest in Medlen, tossing him to the ground as they approached her. She braced herself and charged with the ladle. Watching it snap in half as it came into contact with the Moblin's chest. The creature huffed and kicked her away. She landed on her side and skidded through the mud. With a groan she pushed herself up. The Moblins had spotted her dad again.

Shs forced herself onto her feet and darted to his side. Everything was happening in slow motion. She saw them raise their clubs as she leapt in front of her father, arms wide, shielding him. She closed her eyes waiting for the clubs to hit her.

The pain never came.

She felt the same tingle she had in her dream. A blinding light had appeared making the Moblins recoil and screech. She watched as they turned to ash and disappeared before her eyes. The light stopped. The rain was still pounding down, but the monsters were gone. 

Zelda stood still for a moment in disbelief. She was panting as she lowered her arms, looking them up and down and not seeing a single scrape. She fell to her knees, catching her breath.

"Zelda."

She turned around and found her father staring at her, eyes wide.

"Are you okay?" Zelda reached out to hold his hand. 

"I'm-" he didn't finish his thought as he looked at her hand.

She followed his gaze and her heart stopped. There, imprinted on her skin were three triangles. The bottom left triangle was pulsing with a gold light.

“What is this?”

Before her father could answer Talon was running up to them, “Is everyone okay? Where did the monsters go? I saw a bright light and then-”

He stared at Zelda’s hand, mouth agape, before falling to his knees with a bowed head. “Goddess Hylia.”

Zelda felt tears start to well up in her eyes again.

“Dad what is he talking about?” She tore her hand away from him, hiding it with her other hand.

“That is the triforce Zelda. The triforce of wisdom.”

Zelda’s brain couldn’t comprehend what was happening. People from the village had braved the rain to come to the field. There was lots of shouting and talking around her. She felt her father help her to stand, her legs felt heavy and like jello at the same time; Essentially useless. People were staring at them.

“What about the moblins in the town?” She found herself asking as they walked towards the path.

“Gone. The light scared them away.” Mia was staring at her like she was a forgien creature. Mia, who she had known her whole life. Mia, who had taught her how to make carrot cake. She felt like yelling at her to stop, shake her by the shoulders and say “what is wrong with you?”.

She didn’t. She was really trying to focus on this walking thing. People didn’t follow them to their house, the crowd stayed on the road, whispering. Zelda felt sick. Her dad led her inside and sat her down next to the fireplace. He grabbed a towel for her and wrapped her up in it like she was a little girl again. Wordlessly he made a fire and hung a kettle over it for tea.

“Dad,” She stopped him, “What’s happening?”

He frowned a little, kneeling in front of her, but he didn’t bow like Talon did, he reached out and held her hands in his.

“I’m not sure Zelda. I don’t understand it myself.”

“You said this was the triforce.” She looked at her hand. The golden light had stopped, and now there was just the mark, like a tattoo on her skin, “How did I get it? I'm not the princess of hyrule. I shouldn't have this."

"I don't know, my love."

Zelda felt tears roll down her cheeks. She hated crying, she always felt childish when she did. Her father smiled at her, wrapping her up in a warm hug.

"Was that blinding light really me?" She whimpered out, clinging on to his shirt.

"Yes. And you were brilliant." He whispered back. “It’s going to be okay.”


	2. Prince Link

They had guests, which meant Link was in a foul mood. He always hated when they had guests. Suddenly everything became more difficult, and it was much harder to get a moment to himself when he had to accompany nobleman’s daughters on walks around the garden, or eat formal meals with his family and the practical strangers he was forced to be charming and perfect for. That’s why he excused himself shortly after finishing his dinner, slowly of course, using the correct cutlery and everything. He pretended not to notice the disappointed look of Kaysa, the eligible young lady he had been forced into the company of, and made his way to the end of the long dining room as quickly as he could.

With a large sigh of relief as the doors shut behind him he practically skipped all the way back to his chambers.

“Shouldn’t you be at your fancy dinner?”

Link felt his heart jump out of his body as he whipped around to find who had spoken.

“Why do you always do that?” He growled at his best (only) friend, walking a respectable three paces behind him.

“Because it’s fun.” Saria grinned.

Link huffed and turned back to face forward, “Would you just walk beside me?”

“That is most improper, your highness,” Saria feigned shock, “A lowly knight walking  _ beside  _ the crown prince?”

“A knight. That is funny.” He mumbled, increasing his pace.

She kept up easily, because of course she could. “Give me, but a short few months your highness and I will swear my oath.”

Saria stopped to give a deep bow, and Link sped ahead of her.

It wasn’t that Link didn’t like people. There were lot’s of people he had met that he enjoyed the company of. For instance Mipha, the Zora princess, but he hardly got the chance to see her. No, the only person he got to see on a regular basis was Saria, who had instantly decided that they were meant to be friends forever upon the first time meeting him. Her father was the general, and a close friend and advisor of his fathers, so the two of them had essentially grown up together, almost as siblings. No one in the palace expected them to pretend they weren’t close, not even Impa who, as she had informed him, was an expert in all such formalities. Saria had discovered that using every title under the sun was a splendid way to push his buttons.

She didn’t hesitate to follow him into his room, dropping her game in order to launch herself onto his chaise.

“What’s got your feathers all ruffled?” She asked, watching him pace.

“I want to go out.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Now?”

“Yes now.” He said, a little more irritated then he meant to be.

“We can’t. There are people visiting.”

“They’re at dinner.” Link said, taking off the fancy vest he had patiently worn all evening.

“Impa’s going to catch you.” Saria said annoyed, “And then I get kicked out of training for letting you go.”

“One, she won’t catch us.” Link said, throwing off his shirt and putting on a simple cotton one, “Two, come with me and say you were trying to bring me back.”

“Link.”

“Saria.”

“You’re acting like a child. Just go to sleep. Our  _ esteemed guests _ leave in a day. You can wait.”

He flopped dramatically on his bed, turning away from her. She sighed and rolled off the chaise to her feet, lying down beside him with less theatrics.

“Goddesses you’re a spoiled brat.” Saria muttered running a hand through his hair, “You don’t even have to wake up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to run drills.”

“I’ll trade you.” He muttered into the bed.

“As much as I would love to be Prince for a day, I’ve got no green hair dye for you, and I am not going blonde.”

He turned his head to the side grinning, “Too bad, I’d look great in green.”

She gave him a shove. He laughed a little before falling silent. He felt his eyes looking over to his window. The moon was out and it was bright, away on one of the mountains there was the bright blue glow he had seen before.

“You’re so pensive these days.” Saria said.

He looked back at her confused, “What do you mean?”

“You just…” She paused for a second, “You’re getting quieter. I know you’ve never been a huge fan of talking to others, but you talk to me. I just can’t read you sometimes.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be read.” He said simply.

“How very dramatic.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, “See maybe this is why I’m not talking to you.”

“What’s the matter?” She was serious now, her blue eyes staring into his.

“I want to go to mount Satori one day.” He said, because it was the only thing he could think about saying.

She smiled gently at him and he knew she understood what he had meant. “You will.” She said reaching over and giving his hand a squeeze, “Even if I have to dye my hair blonde for a week.”

He gave her a weak smile. Her hand slipped out of his and he stared at his own. Hers were so much more callused than his were. They had fought with swords and climbed rocks, and gone on adventures. Saria had done so many things he would never get to do. She was right, he was childish. He had servants who brought him food whenever he wanted, anything he could ask for, two parents who loved him and listened to him. He shouldn’t feel jealous of Saria, having to work hard each day, not knowing where she came from. He knew exactly who he was. Who he would always be. Prince Link.

“You’re doing it again.” She said, breaking his train of thought.

“Sorry.” He said quietly, and then, because it was only Saria that could hear him, and because she would know everything he meant, he said, “My father didn’t join us for dinner tonight. He left his morning meeting early.”

“I’m sorry Link.”

“I’m not ready.” He said before he could stop himself. He felt foolish again. He turned away from her and ignored the quiet “Link” she called to him. It was only when he felt the mattress shift that he looked up. Saria had gone into his closet and grabbed his night shirts.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a dummy.” She said pushing him off the bed. She stuffed the shirts under the covers making a human shaped lump. 

He grinned and passed her some extra pillows, “Where are we going?”

“I happen to know there is a party tonight, but I need you to know that I can not stand the guy who’s hosting it and you owe me.” Saria said.

“Add it to my tab.” He said with the warmest smile he had worn all day.

Crawling through the window and climbing their way down from the tower was not as difficult as it looked. They had been doing it since they were children after all, and had found exactly where to place their hands. The running across the rooftops had gotten harder as they grew up. Neither of them were particularly tall, but they were still easier to see and hear then they had been when they were younger. Then it was just a quick shimmy down the drain pipe, and their feet hit solid ground. Link grinned like he was six again as they ran down the cobblestone streets, Saria leading the way as he stopped himself from giving a wild cry of freedom. He knew the buildings they were passing, not by their names or purposes but because he knew the way to Saria’s house. She turned suddenly and he stumbled a bit in order to follow her. He heard her laugh ahead of him, she’d done that on purpose.

They arrived at a building Link had only been to a few times, the barracks. Saria had told him she had officially moved into the barracks when she started formally training, but these were a different building then the one she had shown him.

“Come on,” She said, leading to the back of the building. 

Link followed and watched as she counted the windows before finding her target. She gave three quick knocks on the glass and the curtains were drawn back. The young man by the window grinned and gave her a wave before sliding the window open for the two of them.

“Everyone, Saria’s here!” The man called as Link and her climbed in.

He had been to a party before, and he knew that the parties Saria went to were wildly different then the sort he was used to. For one there was no dress code, another was that the music being sung and played on instruments was much louder and much quicker paced then what he was used to. Although a similarity between the two worlds is that Link knew almost no one there and felt like he truly didn’t belong. This time however, it was a wonderful feeling. This is where he wanted to belong, with the many guys laughing and playing cards at a table. He wished he could float around as easily as Saria did, dodging dancing bodies in the cramped rooms. They had managed to push all the bunk beds to the side of the room, cleared as much of the floor as possible to have space for people to dance if they wanted.

“Saria!” Link whipped his head around and then promptly had to look straight up. A very tall and muscular man with a strange red hair style stood grinning. He was looking right over Link at Saria, who waved with a smile.

“Groose,” She pushed past Link to give the man a clap on the back, an impressive feat since she was probably half his size, “Happy birthday!”

“Mido said you weren’t coming.” He said, bending down slightly so they could hear him over the noise.

“I wasn’t planning on it, still can’t stay long I’m afraid. I have early drills tomorrow.”

“And who’s this?” Groose stooped down to give a quizzical eye to Link.

“My younger brother, Forest.” She said without missing a beat. The grin she wore as she said it made him want to elbow her in the ribs. It was a name they had come up with when they were younger, and thinking very much on the spot. Unfortunately it had stuck.

“Forrest eh?” He laughed, “Well welcome to the Groose-pad, the coolest place to be in town.”

Link nodded, not sure how to respond to that statement.

“Saria!”

Link watched as she groaned and slowly turned around, “Mido.”

“You said you weren’t coming! I’m glad you could make it to my little party!” Mido said making his way over to them.

“Pretty sure it’s my party.” Groose said. “It’s my birthday.”

“I’m the one who planned it!”

Saria’s eyes were already darting around for an escape. Link watched her eyes fall on the group of musicians in the corner.

“I think I’ll go play some music!” She announced loudly, already making a bee-line away from Groose and Mido.

“Ah Saria-” Mido called after her, but she was already gone.

“Your sister is so cool.” Groose said to Link giving him a friendly clap on the back much like Saria had done earlier.

Link stumbled forward slightly before regaining his composure, “She is yeah.”

“Hey, does she ever talk about me?” Mido added in, wrapping an arm around Link’s shoulders.

“Not as much as me I bet.” Groose said, looking right through Link to glare at Mido.

“Well, tell us Forest. Who does she like more?”

Both sets of eyes were on him.

“I don’t know.” He said with a shrug. And then he added with a smirk, “She only ever seems to talk about Prince Link.”

He tried not to laugh as he made his quick escape as the two of them complained and argued over the new information.

The night went by quickly for Link. He had found someone named Beetle, who was not actually a knight in training like everyone else, but a traveling merchant. Link asked all sorts of questions about the places he had been, and listened enraptured while the rest of the party went on. Both of them turned their heads as Link heard a very familiar song. Saria had joined the band and pulled out her ocarina, but now she was playing a song Link knew too well. She had written it herself, and he remembered when she was still trying to get it right.

The room erupted into dancing and various cheers and clapping. Link watched it all with a sense of pride for his friend. She was smiling at the front of the room, swaying with the music. Link felt distinctly other right then, watching as everyone around him enjoyed themselves. He didn’t like feeling sorry for himself, and he didn’t like ruining anyone else’s fun, well, other than Mido and now of course Groose. He stood up and joined the dancers, he wasn’t going to waste his time away from the castle sitting on the outside.

When the song ended Saria made her way through the floor to him, giving his hand a squeeze.

“I’m going home.”

“Do you need me to walk you there?” Link asked.

She gave him a look of disbelief. “I’m more worried about you needing an escort. It’s easier breaking out of the castle then in.”

“I’ll be fine.” He said with a smile.

“Don’t get caught. Get some sleep.” She lectured before crawling through the window and back outside.

He looked around for Beetle, but the strange man was gone. He saw Mido and Groose bickering in the corner and decided he should make his exit before he got trapped in their argument.

The air was crisp and cool compared to the sweaty and incredibly hot rooms he had just been in. He shut the window behind him, whoever was guarding it before had given up their post and joined the party. The sound of the music and voices grew fainter as he walked down the street. It couldn’t be too late, since Saria had just left. He thought briefly about catching up with her, but he figured she wanted her rest. That left him with two options, and he didn’t want to turn back to the castle yet. Instead he picked his way through the streets, avoiding the street lamps as best he could. He found the walls of castle town and followed them along to the gate. He wouldn’t be able to get past the guards, but from here, he could see the start of hyrule field. The stars were shining up above, unobstructed by buildings or forest. Just long stretches of field. Saria kept telling him that one day he’d see the world, but it just felt like time was running out. He didn’t know how to explain it. Maybe she was right. He was getting more solemn.

He didn’t know how long he had wandered the streets of castle town, but when he started to smell baking bread he knew it had been longer then he should have. The sky was turning a rosy pink by the time he reached the castle and shimmied up the drainpipe. It was still dark enough to make a mad dash across the roof and climb the tower. Finally he reached the window, sweaty and exhausted, pulling himself up to swing his legs into his room. He looked up to see the angry brown eyes of Impa glaring at him.

“Good morning.” He said, trying not to panic, “I was just sitting on the window sill for a second, taking in the breeze.”

Her glare intensified, “Your highness, I’m not as gullible as you want me to be, nor as foolish.”

“I-”

“You’re covered in sweat, wearing the same pants you did last night, there is a collection of night shirts and pillows under your bed, and,” Impa said smirking, “I’ve been standing here for fifteen minutes.”

“You win.” Link grumbled sliding off the window sill and yawning.

“Your highness it is not important to me who wins, only that you are prepared for your day. I will be informing the Queen of your temporary absence.” Impa said walking towards the door, “Although I supposed I did win didn’t I?”

She closed the door behind her and Link fought the urge to climb out the window again. 

He set about doing more productive things, knowing his mother would be far more understanding if he looked and smelt less... disgusting. He threw his clothes on the floor, kicking them under the bed to appear neat and orderly, before hopping in the washing bin. The hot water for last night's bath was now freezing, but at least it did wonders to wake him up. After scrubbing his skin and rinsing as fast as humanly possible, Link dried off and threw on some clothes. He was buttoning up another ornate vest when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in." He answered.

His mother walked in with Impa trailing behind.

"Good morning my love." His mother said, gracefully closing the distance between them and kissing his cheek. "Your hair is wet." She remarked with a knowing look. "And there are such deep circles under your eyes. Clearly you had a feverish sleep. Lady Impa, please inform the chef to send Link’s meals to his room today. He is far too ill to be wandering around the chilly castle."

The look Impa gave him could have cut stone, still in a practiced voice she said, "Of course your majesty," before bowing and taking her leave.

"I hope you didn't keep Saria out too late. I have already seen her out in the yard before the sun came up."

"No, she went home at a reasonable hour."

"Unfortunately it didn't appear to influence you." His mother said with a laugh.

"Mother, I-"

She raised a hand to stop him. "It is alright my darling. You have been beyond patient and gracious these past few days. I am more than happy to allow you some reprieve."

"Thank you." Link said meeting her loving gaze.

"I will personally inform our esteemed guests that you are regretfully too sick to be adequate company, and are very sorry to not be able to see them on their last day here."

His mother bent down and grabbed the dirty clothes from under the bed, tossing them on top of the unused quilt. "Put these in a hamper, and please get some rest." She gave him another gentle kiss to his cheek before turning to the door. Shs paused in the doorway, a serious look overtaking her elegant features. "Link. I do want to talk about this. If you do not wish to take the throne-"

"It's alright mother. I just needed a temporary escape. I'm sure with more training I will develop more stamina for hosting guests."

His mother smiled, though he doubted he had convinced her of much. Still he put on a winning grin for her and made a show of putting his clothes in the hamper.

"I'll check on you tonight. Feel better." She said before closing the door.

Link immediately flung off the vest and nice shirt he was wearing, not caring that they haphazardly landed on the floor. Once the uncomfortable pants were replaced with loose ones and he had a clean soft cotton shirt on he collapsed on his bed and fell fast asleep.

He woke around noon, which helped convince everyone in the castle he was sick. Well everyone except for Impa and his mother, who knew he would have been happy to sleep till noon anyday. He stuffed his face with the food that had been brought to his door while he was asleep before lying back down on his bed. The truth was he was bored. The guests didn’t leave until after dinner, which meant the next 6 or so hours would be long and boring. With a sigh he resigned himself to cleaning up the clothes strewn around the floor, only to find it had already been done for him. Great. Now what to do.

He was tempted to crawl out the window again, but he figured his mother's patience wouldn't stretch that far. Instead he went to his desk and opened his journal. He didn't really want to keep one, he was not a very good writer and most of his activities shouldn't be documented. He was pretty sure when Impa told him it was so future generations could learn about his life, that wasn't meant to include him sneaking off to parties with Saria, or seeing how many grapes he could fit in his mouth. Because of this the journal was often left untouched and it's entries were sparse. Still it remained in his room instead of his study, he assumed an attempt at encouragement from Impa.

He didn't write, just flipped through the pages reading what he had managed to scratch down. Nothing particularly interesting. 

_ Today I attended a meeting. _

_ Today was a ball. I danced with Mipha. I had roast beef.  _

That last one had been the longest. He kept flipping back through the journal until his eyes fell on a page filled with messing writing near the beginning. 

_ Today was my 9th birthday. Father canceled all of his meetings and we went on an adventure past castle town. I got to ride a horse. He told me all about everything I asked. I now know lots of things. Like the top of mount satori glows because a great glowing blue deer goes there. And there are these things called blupees. Dad said he and Saria’s father have gone hunting them before but they are hard to catch. I asked him if I would have great adventures like he did and he said I would have lots when I get older. I can't wait to be older so I can do all the things he did. He also gave me a wood sword as a present and taught me to swing it at a tree. He said I was practically a knight. _

_ -Link (Sir Link) _

He stared at the page, and for the first time in a long time felt like crying. Slowly he closed the book. He remembered that day so vividly. He had been so excited, so happy. He even managed to enjoy the ball he was forced to attend after. He got to his feet and dropped to the ground next to the bed. He couldn't see very well, but he could feel the various things that had been kicked under there. Finally he found it, pulling out the carved wood sword from 9 years ago. It was too small for him now, looking more like a long dagger, but he held it out like he had as a child. He didn't remember the steps and forms his father taught him, and he hadn't been taught to fight since. There was no need, they were at peace. The image of the crown prince training as a warrior didn't make people feel at ease, Impa had explained to him.

He gave a few slashes nonetheless, and spent much of his day running around his room pretending to be the knight his father had dubbed him long ago.

When the guests were in their carriages the servants were informed of Prince Link’s remarkable improvement and he was free to walk about the palace again. Immediately he went to the dining hall and scarfed down dinner. Not very refined, not very gentlemanly, but the servants were well accustomed to his un-charming behavior. His mother found him there and took a seat next to him, doing away with formalities and proper seating places when it was just her family.

"Would you like to tell me about your escape last night?"

"I'd like to keep the other parties involved safe." He said with a smile.

"So not just Saria then." His mother grinned, "you do know I could find out very easily. You might as well tell me."

He sighed, "We went to a party in the barracks. It was one of the trainee’s birthdays I believe."

"That sounds fun." She said.

There was silence as Link finished his plate. Silence was not uncommon between him and, well anyone, but this felt different. He could feel his mother's eyes watching him. Her concern made the silence heavy.

"You know you can abdicate." She said seriously, "we don't expect you to live a life that isn't yours. I don't understand why you refuse to-"

"I've no intention to abdicate mother." He said, avoiding her eyes.

"Why? You have no obligation-"

"I have no other siblings." Link interrupted.

"Darling-"

"It is fine mother." He said before standing, and moving to the door.

"Link." She said it so sharply that he stopped before he could reach the door. "I am willing to put a pin in our conversation, but your presence is still required."

He nodded wordlessly, moving back to her side.

"Come pray with me to the goddess."

He offered her his arm and they walked down the corridors together in silence.

The room with the goddess statue was beautiful. His mother had refused to make a sterile marbled room that guests could stroll around regally in. The room was next to the courtyard. It was filled with plants, growing freely instead of trimmed back like the garden. There was even a small pond in the middle of the room. And at the back, wrapped in Ivy was the impressive figure of the statue of Hylia.

He and his mother knelt in front of it, each offering up their prayers in silence. He knew what she was praying for. She had been praying for a long time. He felt he should also pray for his father, but piety was not as easy for him. So he sat in silence, waiting for a prayer to come. He could hear rain on the roof, coming down hard. It must be a storm. There would be no sneaking out tonight. Maybe he could show Saria the long forgotten sword. No. That would be his for now. His to have alone. To remind him.

His prayer came to him then and he sent it to the goddess.

_ Bring me just one more day like that one. _

There was a dim light in front of his eyelids. He opened them slowly to see the statue emitting a golden glow. 

"Mother-"

The glow had strengthened into a bright light, coming from a symbol on the statue's hands.

"Oh Hylia." His mother was staring at it, reaching for his hand. The light didn't last more than 10 seconds, fading to a dim glow before leaving him and his mother in the grim stormy light coming in through the windows. There was silence between them, filled only by the rain, neither of them even breathed. They must have sat there for minutes, staring at the statue, unable to break the silence, in awe of what they had just witnessed. It wasn’t until the doors to the room were thrown open and a dozen scholars and clerics tumbled in that his mother stood and turned away from the statue.

“You’re Majesty, the statue in castle town-”

“-From the temple, there was a light-”

She lifted her hand to silence them. It was Impa who stepped forward from the group kneeling in front of the Queen and Link.

“Your majesty that light can only mean one thing.”

His mother nodded, “The triforce has been awoken.”

Link wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. They had been rushed out of the room quickly, and led to the large meeting room. 

“Impa, what about father?” Link asked staying to the fringes of the room.

“His majesty is asleep, he will be briefed when he wakes, your highness.” Impa said nodding her head towards the table subtly, “I believe it will be beneficial if someone was to stand in for him during his absence.”

Link glared at her and took a seat at the table.

“Is it known which of the pieces has awoken?” His mother was asking a cleric.

“No your majesty,” She said in response with a gentle shake of her head, “But with the first piece awakening there are likely to be others to follow soon.”

His mother paused in thought. Again, it was Impa who came to the table and spoke.

“Your Majesty, history tells us that the three chosen by the triforce arrive at a time when Hyrule is in need-”

“I am aware, Lady Impa.” His mother said solemnly, “I can only hope that the other pieces stay dormant for now, and that whoever wields this first piece, does not intend to do harm.”

“Either way, Your majesty, I believe we should begin preparing for the worst case scenario.” Impa said.

His mother fell silent again as she thought, her brow furrowing. She stood up abruptly, her chair pushing back against the floor loudly. “I will not make the decision to prepare for battle tonight, nor will I make it without his Royal Majesty. Everyone is dismissed until further information can be brought to me.”

The meeting broke into chatter as the Queen left the room. Link followed, not wanting to be coerced into another important discussion. He managed to avoid Impa, and walked back to his chambers in solitude. He just kept thinking of that glowing light, how it felt like it pierced through him. It was beautiful, but blinding. Warm on his skin, but unforgiving and harsh. He felt as if he couldn’t hide from it. Whoever wielded that power must be someone incredible.

He found himself face to face with his Journal, opening it to a blank new page. His quill hovered over the paper for a moment, wondering how to begin, before writing down the sentence:

_ Today I saw something very strange, and very wonderful. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wahoo ok, things are cooking. Why do i keep posting the new chapters at 1 am? Because I have no restraint or sleep schedule!


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